After Creative Pinellas defunding, $500K is back in play

Brian Lowack, President and CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater (VSPC), proposed a Creative Tourism Arts Program during today’s Pinellas County Commission meeting. Effecting much of the plan would be Creative Pinellas, an organization the commission defunded last year.

For context, the commission had requested a proposal that would require a $500,000 commitment from Pinellas County’s budget to create a competitive awards program, leveraging artists and arts agencies for a month-long celebration aimed at increasing tourism and positioning Pinellas as an arts destination.

The proposal comes months after the commission voted to defund Creative Pinellas. While the nonprofit did not shutter entirely, its operational capacity was significantly reduced. The decision came in a 5-2 vote last September. Anticipating the outcome, Creative Pinellas CEO Margaret Murray terminated half of her staff and canceled all programming for September and October.

Ironically, following that defunding, the commission redirected $500,000, the same amount now proposed for this new arts tourism effort, to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater for marketing. Now that money is back on the table.

The prospective program would center on “themed art experiences” over a month-long celebration, potentially extending to two months, during seasonal slow periods, namely October and November.

The proposal was developed in coordination between VSPC, Creative Pinellas, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and Clearwater Arts Alliance. Those groups have been meeting since last October to shape the program, with a formal funding agreement expected as an agenda item at next Tuesday’s commission meeting.

If approved, Creative Pinellas would handle the bulk of the workload, roughly 75%, including marketing, issuing calls for artists, reviewing applications and recommending awards. The partner organizations would support those efforts.

Of the $500,000, $100,000 would go toward administration, with the remaining $400,000 allocated to awards and event production. Grants could range between $5,000 and $50,000, depending on the scope of the project.

Lowack suggested occupancy rate as one metric for evaluating success, essentially tracking how many rooms were booked in connection with the installations. Commissioner Renee Flowers pushed back, noting the difficulty of tying hotel stays directly to arts programming.

Her concern also pointed to a broader issue: whether local artists without name recognition outside Pinellas would be at a disadvantage if tourism draw becomes a primary metric.

Lowack responded that occupancy would be measured across the program as a whole, not tied to any single artist.

Commissioner Chris Scherer went straight to risk assessment.

“I’m a little uncomfortable with giving $500,000 to an organization and just hope that they do a good job,” he said, suggesting a phased funding approach instead of a lump sum.

Lowack said he would be open to including a clawback provision, which would lend more fiscal control to the commission if certain expectations are not meet on time.

“The effort we made last year deflated a lot of people,” said Commissioner Dave Eggers, referring to the commission’s decision to defund Creative Pinellas during last year’s budget meeting.

Eggers, who voted against that decision, added: “I have no problem fronting the money.”